Something simple, yet it rocks! It is time for ordinary Filipino entrepreneur to get in the spotlight. On October 22 (Thursday) at the NBC Tent, The Fort in Taguig City, it will be the turn of taipans and successful businessmen to look back at their beginnings. Sixty models of "Sipag at Tiyaga" will be paraded on stage. Two will win the grand prize of P100,000 each from the Sipag at Tiyaga Foundation.
Iris Sañez uploaded in his blog a preview of the Sipag at Tiyaga models due to see action tomorrow night. Take a look!
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Ravaged by Flood, Hungered by Politics
While typhoon "Ondoy" drowned Metro Manila when it caused a month's ration of rain to pour in a single day, typhoon "Pepeng" turned Cagayan River into a sea for several days. The country's rice and corn basket lost billions worth of standing crop due for harvest, and the question is "will ordinary farmers be able to start all over again without too much pain?"
My experience in Tuao, Cagayan is horrible. I thought I am too old in politics that I never heard of something like a village chief ordering barrio folks not to get relief goods from the provincial government because the district's congressman ordered it. We wondered why small children were lining up to get their share of goods. Until we asked why their parents won't come to receive their family's share of the ration, we would have not known about the "do-not-get-relief-goods" order. The worse thing that happened is - after failing to cow hungry people to follow his orders - this congressman went to the media to allege that relief goods from a senator were not distributed.
I hope typhoon "Ramil" won't come in to teach the people of Tuao, Cagayan another painful lesson. Tuao folks simply need to get rid of the shackles tied under their noses.
My experience in Tuao, Cagayan is horrible. I thought I am too old in politics that I never heard of something like a village chief ordering barrio folks not to get relief goods from the provincial government because the district's congressman ordered it. We wondered why small children were lining up to get their share of goods. Until we asked why their parents won't come to receive their family's share of the ration, we would have not known about the "do-not-get-relief-goods" order. The worse thing that happened is - after failing to cow hungry people to follow his orders - this congressman went to the media to allege that relief goods from a senator were not distributed.
I hope typhoon "Ramil" won't come in to teach the people of Tuao, Cagayan another painful lesson. Tuao folks simply need to get rid of the shackles tied under their noses.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Persona Non Grata
This is not my first time to hear a local legislative body in the Philippines declare somebody persona non grata through a resolution. All the while, I thought such label is simply an expression of disgust to anybody who acted in bad faith or showed unpleasant behavior. When I learned that a priest who shares my advocacy against mining was declared persona non grata by the legislative body of the town where the parish he serves is located, I Googled to find out more about the implications of such label.
Wikipedia explains the label persona non grata, or PNG, this way:
Dictionary.com defines it as:
The intention to have the priest thrown out of the town is evident, and given the nature of such label when applied in diplomacy, the move of the local officials is, it seems at first, going in the right direction. When loosely applied, calling somebody a PNG is devoid of legal or diplomatic implications. Declaring somebody PNG through a resolution passed by a local government legislative body, I think, has violated a convention on the use of the label in formal diplomacy.
From what I know, the separation of the church and the state is constitutionally mandated in this country. And in the arena of diplomacy, a government like ours must regard the church as another state, that is, represented by the Vatican. Let us be reminded that the business of diplomacy is something not devolved to the local governments. It remains the domain of the foreign affairs department.
As such, the move to declare a priest a PNG by virtue of a Sangguniang Bayan (town legislative body) resolution elevates the use of the label in the language of foreign diplomacy. And there is nowhere in the local government code of the Philippines that a Sangguniang Bayan has been clothed with powers to act on diplomatic matters. Addressing such a resolution directly to the Bishop is an act exhibiting ignorance to established protocols attached to the use of such diplomatic label.
The tone of the resolution should be asking the foreign affairs department to declare the priest a PNG. They are the agency given the power to apply such label to whom it is due when diplomacy is involved. The resolution should have been addressed to the foreign affairs department if the motive is to get official action from the Church.
Beyond protocols, I became interested in the motivation behind the passage of a local government resolution using such diplomatic label to a priest. My research found out that the beginning of all these was when the priest advocated a position contrary to the position of the mayor on the issue of whether to allow a mining company operate in their town or not. Later, a frustrated assassination attempt on the mayor and his brother by unidentified men took place. The incident became a convenient excuse for the mayor to have heavily armed bodyguards roaming in town, with or without him around. In response, the priest made public his second criticism. And so a word war went on, and that PNG resolution came out.
Back to the language of diplomacy, we can't find anything that makes the priest unwelcome to the general public in this town governed by the mayor. He only said critical things against the mayor's actions and decisions, and nothing against the whole town that should regard him unwelcome. The local official's premise who made the resolution is - the priest started undue division in the community, causing the rise of conflict and disorder. I don't think so. The priest just delivered his duty to uphold peace and respect for human life, his call to abhor weapons that kill.
What really caused the conflict is the entry of foreign mining interest in the town, the use of money and buying of favors among villagers who eventually supported the entry of the mining company.
The PNG label is misplaced. It must be directed to a British mining company and those who allowed themselves used in exchange of money and favors must be included, too! In this case, the label PNG needs to take its plural form: personae non gratae.
Wikipedia explains the label persona non grata, or PNG, this way:
"Under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations Article 9, a receiving State may "at any time and without having to explain its decision" declare any member of a diplomatic staff persona non grata. A person so declared is considered unacceptable and is usually recalled to his or her home nation. If not recalled, the receiving State "may refuse to recognize the person concerned as a member of the mission."
Dictionary.com defines it as:
"(1.) a person who is not welcome... (2.) a diplomatic representative unacceptable to an accrediting government."
The intention to have the priest thrown out of the town is evident, and given the nature of such label when applied in diplomacy, the move of the local officials is, it seems at first, going in the right direction. When loosely applied, calling somebody a PNG is devoid of legal or diplomatic implications. Declaring somebody PNG through a resolution passed by a local government legislative body, I think, has violated a convention on the use of the label in formal diplomacy.
From what I know, the separation of the church and the state is constitutionally mandated in this country. And in the arena of diplomacy, a government like ours must regard the church as another state, that is, represented by the Vatican. Let us be reminded that the business of diplomacy is something not devolved to the local governments. It remains the domain of the foreign affairs department.
As such, the move to declare a priest a PNG by virtue of a Sangguniang Bayan (town legislative body) resolution elevates the use of the label in the language of foreign diplomacy. And there is nowhere in the local government code of the Philippines that a Sangguniang Bayan has been clothed with powers to act on diplomatic matters. Addressing such a resolution directly to the Bishop is an act exhibiting ignorance to established protocols attached to the use of such diplomatic label.
The tone of the resolution should be asking the foreign affairs department to declare the priest a PNG. They are the agency given the power to apply such label to whom it is due when diplomacy is involved. The resolution should have been addressed to the foreign affairs department if the motive is to get official action from the Church.
Beyond protocols, I became interested in the motivation behind the passage of a local government resolution using such diplomatic label to a priest. My research found out that the beginning of all these was when the priest advocated a position contrary to the position of the mayor on the issue of whether to allow a mining company operate in their town or not. Later, a frustrated assassination attempt on the mayor and his brother by unidentified men took place. The incident became a convenient excuse for the mayor to have heavily armed bodyguards roaming in town, with or without him around. In response, the priest made public his second criticism. And so a word war went on, and that PNG resolution came out.
Back to the language of diplomacy, we can't find anything that makes the priest unwelcome to the general public in this town governed by the mayor. He only said critical things against the mayor's actions and decisions, and nothing against the whole town that should regard him unwelcome. The local official's premise who made the resolution is - the priest started undue division in the community, causing the rise of conflict and disorder. I don't think so. The priest just delivered his duty to uphold peace and respect for human life, his call to abhor weapons that kill.
What really caused the conflict is the entry of foreign mining interest in the town, the use of money and buying of favors among villagers who eventually supported the entry of the mining company.
The PNG label is misplaced. It must be directed to a British mining company and those who allowed themselves used in exchange of money and favors must be included, too! In this case, the label PNG needs to take its plural form: personae non gratae.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Now it can be told
Six months before I left my job at the Provincial Agriculture Office of Nueva Vizcaya, the Senate began its probe on the fertilizer scam. That was February 2006, I left end of September. Then Undersecretary Jocelyn "JocJoc" Bolante eluded the hotseat. Unfortunately for him, the United States hasn't allowed its tarnished reputation pulled down further by refusing to grant his asylum bid. Yesterday, Bolante became the "most famous wheelchair-bound balikbayan in the country," to quote former Senate President Franlin Drilon.
For farmers who pinned their hopes on the Ginintuang Masaganang Ani program to recover from the blows of rice importation that placed them in a cut-throat competition with cheap rice exporters, the funds were like promised blankets that never arrived when the cold months came.
By the end of 2005, the Commission on Audit has asked the provincial agriculturist of Nueva Vizcaya to explain if the province received agricultural inputs that it deemed overpriced. My boss asked me to draft a response informing COA that indeed the province received sacks of bacterial soil conditioners. These are not commercial fertilizers but bacterial agents that can hasten decomposition of organic matter in the soil. However, the supporting documents were all processed at the Department of Agriculture and we never had a chance to see them.
It turned out that such bacterial soil conditioners cost more than P13,000 per sack. Since the technology was new to farmers, very few technicians availed the inputs, and some were left to rot at the provincial nursery.
The picture of the GMA rice program has gone bleak. Melvin Gascon recently wrote a clear description of what's happening on the ground. The scam may not just be a mere fertilizer procurement mess but high priced agricultural machinery costing millions may be involved. This brings me back to the real story behind the murder of Marlene Garcia-Esperat, which until now justice remained elusive.
The Senate should really dig deeper and find out the other Jocjoc's in the agriculture department. The rice subsidy program and all other funds purportedly intended to cushion the impact of GATT in the agriculture sector should be subjected to a close scrutiny. Likewise, the implementation of the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act (AFMA) should be reviewed. The architects of the fertilizer scam has largely used the AFMA to justify many of its deals.
I have seen quite a lot in the farms of agriculture officials who frequently leave their offices on the guise of "on-farm" visits. That should read "own-farm" visit.
Giving up a 10 year career in the civil service is nothing. Now, I could sleep well without worries that my department would be involved in a mess.
For farmers who pinned their hopes on the Ginintuang Masaganang Ani program to recover from the blows of rice importation that placed them in a cut-throat competition with cheap rice exporters, the funds were like promised blankets that never arrived when the cold months came.
By the end of 2005, the Commission on Audit has asked the provincial agriculturist of Nueva Vizcaya to explain if the province received agricultural inputs that it deemed overpriced. My boss asked me to draft a response informing COA that indeed the province received sacks of bacterial soil conditioners. These are not commercial fertilizers but bacterial agents that can hasten decomposition of organic matter in the soil. However, the supporting documents were all processed at the Department of Agriculture and we never had a chance to see them.
It turned out that such bacterial soil conditioners cost more than P13,000 per sack. Since the technology was new to farmers, very few technicians availed the inputs, and some were left to rot at the provincial nursery.
The picture of the GMA rice program has gone bleak. Melvin Gascon recently wrote a clear description of what's happening on the ground. The scam may not just be a mere fertilizer procurement mess but high priced agricultural machinery costing millions may be involved. This brings me back to the real story behind the murder of Marlene Garcia-Esperat, which until now justice remained elusive.
The Senate should really dig deeper and find out the other Jocjoc's in the agriculture department. The rice subsidy program and all other funds purportedly intended to cushion the impact of GATT in the agriculture sector should be subjected to a close scrutiny. Likewise, the implementation of the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act (AFMA) should be reviewed. The architects of the fertilizer scam has largely used the AFMA to justify many of its deals.
I have seen quite a lot in the farms of agriculture officials who frequently leave their offices on the guise of "on-farm" visits. That should read "own-farm" visit.
Giving up a 10 year career in the civil service is nothing. Now, I could sleep well without worries that my department would be involved in a mess.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
A Heyday of Violence
While military operations are going berserk to crush the MILF rebels, displacing hundreds of families in North Cotabato, a “cheap” gun-for-hire gang and a kidnap for ransom syndicate are having a heyday, sowing terror in this part of
Kidnappers brought to Bayombong on 01 July a victim, an Indian national, whom they seized in
On 06 July, a husband and wife who own a drugstore in Solano were peppered with bullets, the bag carrying their daily sales was carted away. The case remains unsolved.
Yesterday, 13 August, a woman who is a scion of a pioneering batch of migrants from India that settled in Bayombong was shot dead before noon near the town’s busiest place – the public market. On the evening of that same day, a village chief was shot dead in a dark portion of a road while on his way back home from a wake. Still on that same day at noon, three robbers took away 100,000 pesos from an indigenous woman trader.
But two incidents in the past - the murder of another Indian national (the older brother of the woman recently killed) two years ago and the ambush of a village chief several months ago, which are both unsolved to this date - are like pieces of a mysterious puzzle beginning to take shape. These murders are not acts of a serial killer; there are accompanying circumstances that points out to a handiwork of an organized crime syndicate.
Well, a town councilor from Solano was absolutely correct when he raised the question whether putting a meager 36,000 pesos budget for peace and order is still a moral act.
All these happen when an elected leadership is not in any way concerned even if such gruesome murders are going on. These officials are only good at paving roads, buying new heavy equipment and brand new SUVs purportedly for the use of the provincial government.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
International Rivers’ documentary wins Adobe-Techsoup’s Multi-Media Design Contest
Save Cagayan River advocates: Here's an inspiring and award-winning video from International Rivers
Multi-media software maker Adobe and technology for non-profit organization Techsoup announced last week the best video, print and web designs that won in the contest dubbed as “Show Your Impact”. The contest has been opened to non-profit groups working on various concerns.
One of the chosen runner-ups in the video category is International Rivers’ rapid-fire worldwide tour of dam issues titled “We All Live Downstream”. International Rivers is a non-profit group working to expose the evils of dam-building. They are also actively lobbying to protect the world’s rivers that remain free-flowing.
Many people still consider dams to be a source of “clean energy” but International Rivers believe it has done more harm than good to people’s and river’s lives.
“A century of dam-building has changed the world’s rivers and our relationship to them” the video documentary declared in its introduction.
“We All Live Downstream” aims to introduce the issues surrounding dams, rivers and rights. It is a light file, high resolution slide show aimed at reaching the widest possible audience worldwide. International Rivers has been actively raising awareness on the impacts of 50,000 dams built worldwide that already displaced “tens of millions” of people.
International Rivers’ web manager Colin Carpenter is very proud of the video documentary. “It looks like people have taken notice,” he said.
As one of the contest organizers said according to Carpenter, “We were extremely impressed with the videos produced by your organization. We really saw them as a call to action for the viewer.”
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
The True State of the Nation in a "Text" Joke
Here's a joke widely circulating in the short messaging service or popularly called "text" in the Philippines. Text jokes are ordinary in this country, touted as the world's short messaging capital, but this one characterizes the true state of the nation, closer than the president's assessment in her address last Monday.
Sorry English speaking folks, the translation in English doesn't rhyme.
Venue: Araneta Center, Cubao, Quezon City, Philippines
Episode: Introduction of Contestants
(Since the venue is in the Philippines, all contestants were required to speak in Tagalog)
Contestant No. 1: "Gutom ako, gutom kayo, gutom tayong lahat! Hungary!"
Contestant No. 2: "Ola Viola! Kaserola, tinola, saranggola, arinola ni Lola....Venezuela!
Contestant No. 3: "Boom! Kaboom! Kablaam!... Afghanistan!"
Contestant No. 4: "Malay mo, malay ko, malay nating lahat... Malaysia!"
Contestant No. 5: "Baha dun, baha dito. Baha sa buong mundo... Bahamas!
Contestant No. 6: "Hindi sa akin, hindi sa iyo, kanino sya?... Kenya!"
Contestant No. 7: "One way, two way, there's no other way... Norway!" (*She was given zero for not speaking in Tagalog)
Contestant No. 8: "Sing ka na, sing ka pa, ilabas ang Magic Sing!..... Singapore!"
Contestant No. 9*: "Mula sa lupaing salat sa bigas, sandamakmak pa sa poder ang mga mandurugas!.. Pilipinas!"
-----
*Contestant No. 9 hails from the Philippines. Translation: "From the land where rice is severely scarce, where plenty of those in power are bloody thieves!... Philippines!")
Sorry English speaking folks, the translation in English doesn't rhyme.
***
The Setting: An International Pageant for Gays dubbed as "Miss Gay Universe"Venue: Araneta Center, Cubao, Quezon City, Philippines
Episode: Introduction of Contestants
(Since the venue is in the Philippines, all contestants were required to speak in Tagalog)
Contestant No. 1: "Gutom ako, gutom kayo, gutom tayong lahat! Hungary!"
Contestant No. 2: "Ola Viola! Kaserola, tinola, saranggola, arinola ni Lola....Venezuela!
Contestant No. 3: "Boom! Kaboom! Kablaam!... Afghanistan!"
Contestant No. 4: "Malay mo, malay ko, malay nating lahat... Malaysia!"
Contestant No. 5: "Baha dun, baha dito. Baha sa buong mundo... Bahamas!
Contestant No. 6: "Hindi sa akin, hindi sa iyo, kanino sya?... Kenya!"
Contestant No. 7: "One way, two way, there's no other way... Norway!" (*She was given zero for not speaking in Tagalog)
Contestant No. 8: "Sing ka na, sing ka pa, ilabas ang Magic Sing!..... Singapore!"
Contestant No. 9*: "Mula sa lupaing salat sa bigas, sandamakmak pa sa poder ang mga mandurugas!.. Pilipinas!"
-----
*Contestant No. 9 hails from the Philippines. Translation: "From the land where rice is severely scarce, where plenty of those in power are bloody thieves!... Philippines!")
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